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Key Facts: ACI Dealing Certificate Exam

Exam Questions

ACI FMA

2 hours

Exam Time Limit

ACI FMA

60%

Minimum Pass Mark

ACI FMA (with 50% per basket)

320 EUR

Standard Exam Fee

ACI FMA 2026

Topic Baskets

ACI FMA Syllabus

Act/360

USD/EUR Basis

Money market convention

The ACI Dealing Certificate validates foundational knowledge in financial markets, FX spot and forward contracts, cash money markets, FICC derivatives (such as swaps and futures), and treasury risk management. The 2-hour exam consists of 70 questions, requiring a 60% overall score and a 50% minimum in each of the five baskets to pass.

Sample ACI Dealing Certificate Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your ACI Dealing Certificate exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1According to the FX Global Code, what is the primary objective of the voluntary guidelines provided to market participants?

A.To enforce legally binding criminal penalties for unfair trading practices in the wholesale FX market

B.To promote a robust, fair, liquid, open, and appropriately transparent foreign exchange market

C.To dictate fixed exchange rates and bid-ask spreads for major currency pairs globally

D.To eliminate the use of electronic trading platforms and algorithmic execution in wholesale markets

Explanation: The FX Global Code is a set of global principles of good practice in the foreign exchange market. It is voluntary and aimed at promoting a robust, fair, liquid, open, and appropriately transparent market, underpinned by high ethical standards, rather than acting as a criminal code or setting fixed prices.

2Under the FX Global Code, how is the practice of 'Last Look' defined and what is its acceptable use?

A.It is a mandatory regulatory delay of 5 minutes before any high-frequency FX trade is finalized.

B.It is a practice where a liquidity provider reviews a transaction request against pre-trade risk controls and price checks before accepting it, used solely for risk management.

C.It is the client's right to cancel an executed FX transaction within 24 hours of settlement without any penalty.

D.It is a dealer's practice of checking competing banks' rates on a multi-dealer platform before quoting a price to a client.

Explanation: Last Look is a practice used in electronic trading where a liquidity provider checks the validity, price, and credit availability of a transaction request before executing it. The Code emphasizes that Last Look should be used for risk management and trade validation, not to observe client trade requests to pre-hedge or trade for the dealer's own benefit during the latency window.

3When is 'pre-hedging' acceptable under the guidelines of the FX Global Code?

A.When a dealer uses confidential client order info to place trades for the bank's proprietary account to guarantee a profit.

B.When a liquidity provider acts as principal, behaves transparently, and executes trades to manage the risk of a prospective client order, without disadvantaging the client.

C.At any time, provided the dealer does not disclose the pre-hedging activities to the client under any circumstances.

D.Only when the client explicitly requests that the bank front-run their order in the open market to drive the price up.

Explanation: Under the FX Global Code, pre-hedging is the practice of mitigating risk associated with a potential client transaction. It is only acceptable if the liquidity provider acts as principal, is transparent about the practice, and executes it to manage the risk of a prospective order in a way that does not disadvantage the client or disrupt the market.

4Under the European Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), which of the following best defines 'inside information'?

A.Information regarding standard historical interest rates published in public central bank bulletins.

B.Information of a precise nature, which has not been made public, relating to financial instruments, and which if made public would likely have a significant effect on their price.

C.Any opinion or analysis prepared by an independent sell-side equity research analyst for public circulation.

D.Internal bank projections of target revenue that are regularly discussed with public institutional shareholders.

Explanation: MAR defines inside information as non-public information of a precise nature, relating to one or more financial instruments or issuers, which, if made public, would be likely to have a significant effect on the prices of those instruments or related derivatives.

5What market practice is known as 'Spoofing'?

A.Entering multiple buy or sell orders that are not intended to be executed, with the aim of creating a false impression of market depth and then canceling them.

B.Impersonating a central bank official in public media to influence national interest rate policy.

C.Selling the same currency pair on two different exchanges simultaneously to capture a low-risk arbitrage profit.

D.Borrowing short-term funds in a low-interest currency and investing them in a high-interest currency.

Explanation: Spoofing is an abusive market practice where a trader places non-bona fide orders (orders they do not intend to execute) to create a false appearance of supply or demand, misleading other market participants, and then cancels them before execution.

6What is the primary role of the ACI Financial Markets Association (ACI FMA) regarding ethical market conduct?

A.To act as a global central bank that issues currencies and sets overnight lending rates.

B.To promote ethical behavior and professional standards through guidelines like the ACI FMA Code of Conduct and the ELAC education portal.

C.To prosecute and jail rogue traders who violate local financial legislation in member countries.

D.To audit and approve the annual financial statements of global investment banks.

Explanation: The ACI FMA is a leading global association of financial market professionals that promotes market integration, ethical behavior, and professional standards through education and its Code of Conduct, supported by tools like ELAC (E-Learning and Certification).

7Under the MiFID II framework in Europe, the 'best execution' obligation requires investment firms to:

A.Guarantee that every client trade achieves a net positive profit within 30 days of execution.

B.Take all sufficient steps to obtain the best possible result for their clients, taking into account price, cost, speed, and likelihood of execution.

C.Execute all client trades exclusively on regulated national exchanges, banning over-the-counter (OTC) execution.

D.Charge zero execution fees and commissions to retail clients for all foreign exchange transactions.

Explanation: MiFID II requires investment firms to take all sufficient steps to obtain the best possible result for their clients when executing orders. This includes considering price, costs, speed, likelihood of execution and settlement, size, and nature of the order.

8Which of the following describes the market abuse known as 'Front-running'?

A.A market maker providing a bid-ask quote to a customer before any other competitor can respond.

B.A dealer executing a trade for the bank's proprietary account based on advance, non-public knowledge of a pending client order.

C.A trader purchasing a security at the market open and selling it immediately before the market closes on the same day.

D.An institutional investor selling short a stock that has a declining earnings trend before the public announcement.

Explanation: Front-running occurs when a dealer or broker uses confidential, non-public information about an impending client order to execute a trade for their own account first, anticipating that the client's order will move the price in a favorable direction.

9How should disputes or discrepancies regarding transaction terms (such as rate or value date mismatch) be handled according to ethical codes of conduct?

A.The front-office dealer who executed the trade should personally settle the dispute directly with the client's dealer without records.

B.Disputes must be referred to and investigated promptly by independent middle-office or back-office staff who are not party to the trade.

C.The trade should be canceled immediately by the dealer, and the loss should be hidden in a suspense account.

D.The party with the larger trading volume should dictate the final terms, and the counterparty must accept them without recourse.

Explanation: Ethical guidelines, including the ACI FMA guidelines, state that trade disputes and discrepancies must be resolved by independent operational departments (middle/back office) using proper procedures and recordings, avoiding conflicts of interest in the front office.

10What is 'Settlement Risk' (also known as Herstatt Risk) in foreign exchange markets?

A.The risk that a trade is not confirmed by the middle office within the mandated 2-hour window.

B.The risk that one party to an FX contract delivers the currency sold but the counterparty fails to deliver the currency bought.

C.The risk that a country imposes capital controls before a currency forward transaction can be initiated.

D.The risk that the bid-ask spread of a currency pair widens during low-liquidity holiday periods.

Explanation: Settlement risk is the risk that a counterparty defaults after the firm has delivered its currency leg, but before receiving the counterparty's currency leg. It is historically known as Herstatt risk after the collapse of Herstatt Bank in 1974.

About the ACI Dealing Certificate Exam

The ACI Dealing Certificate is an internationally recognized foundation-level credential for financial market professionals. It validates core competence in the foreign exchange (FX), money, and interest rate markets, as well as their associated derivative instruments. Candidates are tested on financial mathematics, calculations of forward rates and swaps, interest rate pricing, and market regulations, including the FX Global Code and ethical conduct guidelines.

Assessment

70 multiple-choice questions across 5 topic baskets

Time Limit

2 hours

Passing Score

60% overall (42 correct), with a minimum of 50% in each topic basket

Exam Fee

320 EUR (non-members) / 250 EUR (members) (ACI Financial Markets Association (ACI FMA))

ACI Dealing Certificate Exam Content Outline

15%

Financial Markets Environment

Financial systems, regulatory frameworks, Market Abuse Regulation, MiFID II, and the FX Global Code.

25%

Foreign Exchange

Spot, forward, and swap FX contracts, cross rates, forward points, and premium/discount calculations.

25%

Rates (Money and Interest Rate Markets)

Simple interest calculations, deposit markets, CDs, commercial paper, T-bills, and repurchase agreements (Repos).

20%

FICC Derivatives

Forward Rate Agreements (FRAs), short-term interest rate futures, interest rate swaps, overnight index swaps (OIS), and options.

15%

Financial Markets Applications

Asset and liability management (ALM), liquidity ratios, funds transfer pricing, and credit, market, and operational risk.

How to Pass the ACI Dealing Certificate Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: 60% overall (42 correct), with a minimum of 50% in each topic basket
Assessment: 70 multiple-choice questions across 5 topic baskets
Time limit: 2 hours
Exam fee: 320 EUR (non-members) / 250 EUR (members)

Keys to Passing

Complete 500+ practice questions
Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
Focus on highest-weighted sections
Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

ACI Dealing Certificate Study Tips from Top Performers

1Master day-count conventions: USD, EUR, and CHF use Actual/360, while GBP and AUD use Actual/365.

2Practice FX cross-rate bid/ask calculations, always remembering to multiply or divide bid-to-bid and ask-to-ask depending on the quote direction.

3Understand forward points: if the bid points are lower than the ask points, add them to the spot rate (premium); if the bid points are higher than the ask, subtract them (discount).

4Memorize the FRA settlement formula, especially the discounting of the interest differential to the settlement date using the reference rate.

5Familiarize yourself with the FX Global Code principles, particularly regarding Last Look practices, handling confidential client information, and ethical trading behaviors.

6Practice converting Treasury Bill discount yields to money market yields, and dirty/clean bond prices in repo transactions.

7Study option payoffs, noting the differences between European and American options and the meaning of intrinsic versus time value.

8Review asset-liability management (ALM) metrics like the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) and Economic Value of Equity (EVE).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ACI Dealing Certificate?

The ACI Dealing Certificate is a foundation-level certification issued by the ACI Financial Markets Association. It is designed to ensure that market participants possess a high level of professional knowledge and ethical integrity in financial market products, specifically foreign exchange, money markets, and derivatives.

What is the structure of the exam?

The exam consists of 70 multiple-choice questions to be completed in 2 hours. The questions are distributed across five subject areas (baskets): Financial Markets Environment, Foreign Exchange, Rates, FICC Derivatives, and Financial Markets Applications.

What is the passing score requirement?

To pass, you must achieve an overall score of at least 60% (42 correct answers out of 70). Additionally, you must score at least 50% in each of the five subject baskets individually. Failing to meet the 50% threshold in any single basket results in an overall fail, even if your total score exceeds 60%.

What is the cost of the exam?

The standard exam fee is 320 EUR for non-members and 250 EUR for ACI members, plus any applicable taxes or regional center fees.

What calculations are tested on the ACI Dealing Certificate?

The exam requires quantitative calculations including FX cross-rates, forward points, covered interest arbitrage, simple interest, day-count basis adjustments (Actual/360 vs. Actual/365), Treasury Bill discount yields, FRA settlement payments, and futures pricing.

Is the ACI Dealing Certificate globally recognized?

Yes, it is a globally recognized benchmark credential for dealers, treasury analysts, risk managers, compliance officers, and operations staff in major financial institutions worldwide.